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Former Commissioners of the Northwest Territories


Commissioners are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the federal Cabinet. The appointment is typically for a period of five years and the salary is paid by the federal government.

The complex list of leaders listed below is due to various decisions of the government on how to administer what we call today the Northwest Territories. Beginning in 1670 the region was called Rupert's Land and was under Hudson's Bay Company rule. From 1810 until 1815 and again from 1821 until 1839, the region was divided into Northern and Southern Departments. In 1870, it officially became the Northwest Territories.

MAIN MENU: PROVINCES and TERRITORIES: NORTHWEST TERRITORIES: FORMER COMMISSIONERS


Dates of OfficeGovernor of Hudson's Bay Company(Born - Died)
1799 - 1807Sir James Winter Lake
1807 - 1812William Mainwaring
1812 - 1822Joseph Berens
1822 - 1852Sir John Henry Pelly
1852 - 1856Andrew Wedderburn Colville
1856 - 1858John Shepherd
1858 - 2 Jul 1863Henry Hulse Berens
2 Jul 1863 - 29 Jan 1868Sir Edmund Walker Head(b. 1805 - d. 1868)
29 Jan 1868 - 1869John Wodehouse, Earl of Kimberly
1869 - 1874Stafford Henry Northcote



Dates of OfficeGovernor at Fort York(Born - Died)
1798 - 1802John Ballanden
1802 - 1809John MacNab
1809 - 1810William Hemmings Cook



Dates of OfficeGovernor at Fort Albany(Born - Died)
1792 - 1800John MacNab
1800 - 1807John Hodgson
1807 - 1808Thomas Vincent
1808 - 1810John Hodgson



Dates of OfficeGovernor at Fort Prince of Wales(Born - Died)
1798 - 1800Thomas Stayner
1800 - 1802John MacNab
1802 - 1804 William Auld
1804 - 1805Thomas Topping
1805 - 1808William Auld
1808 - 1809Thomas Topping
1809 - 1810William Auld



Dates of OfficeSuperintendent of the Northern Department(Born - Died)
30 May 1810 - 9 Apr 1814William Auld
1814 - 1815Thomas Thomas(b. c.1766 - d. 1828)



Dates of OfficeSuperintendent of the Southern Department(Born - Died)
1810 - 1814Thomas Thomas(b. c.1766 - d. 1828)
1814 - 1815Thomas Vincent



Dates of OfficeGovernor(Born - Died)
1815 - 19 Jun 1816Robert Semple(b. 1777 - d. 1816)
Jun 1816 - May 1818James Bird(b. c.1773 - d. 1856)
May 1818 - Oct 1821William Williams(b. 17... - d. 1837)



Dates of OfficeGovernor of the Northern Department(Born - Died)
Oct 1821 - 1839George Simpson(b. c.1787 - d. 1860)



Dates of OfficeGovernor of the Southern Department(Born - Died)
Oct 1821 - 26 Feb 1826William Williams(b. 17... - d. 1837)
26 Feb 1826 - 1839George Simpson(b. c.1787 - d. 1860)



Dates of OfficeGovernor(Born - Died)
1839 - 7 Sep 1860George Simpson(b. c.1787 - d. 1860)
7 Sep 1860 - 1864Alexander Grant Dallas(b. 1816 - d. 1882)
1864 - 15 Jul 1870William Mactavish(b. 1815 - d. 1870)



Dates of OfficeCommissioner(Born - Died)
02 Dec 1872 - 07 Oct 1876Alexander Morris(b. 1826 - d. 1889)
07 Oct 1876 - 03 Dec 1881David Laird(b. 1833 - d. 1914)
03 Dec 1881 - 01 Jul 1888Edgar Dewdney(b. 1835 - d. 1916)
01 Jul 1888 - 31 Oct 1893Joseph Royal(b. 1837 - d. 1902)
31 Oct 1893 - 30 May 1898Charles Herbert Mackintosh(b. 1843 - d. 1931)
30 May 1898 - 26 Sep 1898Malcolm Colin Cameron(b. 1832 - d. 1898)
04 Oct 1898 - 01 Sep 1905Amédée Emmanuel Forget(b. 1847 - d. 1923)
24 Aug 1905 - 27 Jun 1919Frederick D. White
27 Jun 1919 - 17 Feb 1931William Wallace Cory(b. 1865 - d. 19...)
31 Mar 1931 - 30 Apr 1934Hugh Howard Gibson
03 Dec 1936 - 03 Dec 1946Charles Camsell(b. 1876 - d. 1958)
14 Jan 1947 - 24 Sep 1950Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside(b. 1898 - d. 1992)
14 Nov 1950 - 15 Nov 1953Hugh Andrew Young(b. 1898 - d. 1982)
15 Nov 1953 - 12 Jul 1963Robert Gordon Robertson(b. 1917 - d. 2013)
12 Jul 1963 - 16 Jan 1967Bent Gestur Sivertz(b. 1905 - d. 2000)
02 Mar 1967 - 06 Apr 1979Stuart Milton Hodgson(b. 1924 - d. 2015)
15 Apr 1979 - 31 Jul 1989John Havelock Parker(b. 1929)
02 Oct 1989 - 30 Sep 1994Daniel L. Norris(b. 1935 - d. 2008)
16 Jan 1995 - 26 Mar 1999Helen Maksagak(b. 1931 - d. 2009)
26 Mar 1999 - 01 Apr 2000Daniel Joseph Marion(b. 1945)
01 Apr 2000 - 29 Apr 2005Glenna Hansen(b. 1956)
29 Apr 2005 - 12 May 2010Tony Whitford(b. 1941)
12 May 2010 - 10 May 2016George Tuccaro(b. 1950)
10 May 2016 - 18 Sep 2017Gerry Kisoun (Acting)(b. 1953)
18 Sep 2017 - TBA 2024Margaret Thom(b. 1951)
TBA 2024 - Gerry Kisoun(b. 1953)

See also
Lieutenant Governors of Canada
Northwest Territories

External Links
Commissioner of the Northwest Territories Official Website


Copyright Craig I.W. Marlatt